SAN ANTONIO, Jan. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, conservative leader Jeff Judson called upon Texas Governor Greg Abbott to appoint a special property tax relief commission to examine ways in which the state can begin to phase out and eventually eliminate destructive property taxes which put home ownership out-of-reach for many Texas families and to do so by using surplus revenues in coming bienniums.

Judson, who is challenging six-term incumbent State Representative Joe Straus in the March 1st Republican Primary, called on Governor Abbott to create the new commission in order to help put a renewed focus on the crippling effects of the state's property tax system and to study ways to reform it.

Judson said that the commission is especially needed because efforts earlier this year by both Governor Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, as well as a strong majority of Senate Republicans to reduce Texan's property taxes were impeded during the last legislative session in the Texas House of Representatives where Straus and his hand-picked Ways and Means Committee Chairman, Speaker Pro-Tem Dennis Bonnen, chose to honor the wishes of the liberal Democrats who provide Straus with the votes to remain as Speaker instead of the Texas property and homeowners who have demanded property tax relief.

"Instead of siding with taxpayers, Straus instead chose to stand with his left-wing power base who, in lieu of returning surplus revenue to taxpayers in the form property tax cuts, instead wanted to spend the dollars on expanding the size and scope of state government or on alternative tax schemes," Judson said.

"Joe Straus was afraid to upset the liberal Democrats whose votes he must have to remain as Speaker," said Judson. "While true conservative leaders like State Senator Paul Bettencourt (R, Houston) are spending the interim examining ways to provide meaningful tax relief and reform to Texans, Speaker Straus calls property tax relief "a side issue" and cowers to the liberals who put him in the Speaker's chair and, now, keep him there." Judson said.

While Judson said he understands the process of eliminating property taxes will take time, he insisted that doing so must not be accomplished by increasing other taxes. Instead, he said that property tax relief can be achieved by long-term growth in the state's revenue. He said that in the short short-term, Texas should reform burdensome local property taxes by improving the appraisal process and strengthening the rollback provision. Ultimately, the long-term goal should be to provide a more robust economy with the freedom to truly own property by eliminating property taxes altogether.